The two knocks echoed like the trigger of a loaded crossbow—sharp, decisive, and impossible to ignore.
Without hesitation, the four chief stewards bowed deeply to Aegon.
"My lord."
"Master." (Three voices followed in unison.)
Next came the guild's formal loyalty ritual.
The four stewards had long been stationed in different corners of the world, each overseeing a specific branch of the guild's business. It was rare for them to all gather in one place.
This was Aegon's first time presiding over a meeting since inheriting the guild. In accordance with tradition, the four stewards were to swear their allegiance to him, affirming their loyalty to the guild's new master.
One by one, they approached Aegon. He turned slightly, raising his right hand—the one adorned with a Valyrian steel ring carved with a dragon motif. The YiTish steward stepped forward respectfully and kissed the ring.
In a low voice, he swore, "Your loyal servant and follower, Brus, is at your command."
"Meraxes bears witness to our covenant," Aegon replied, his tone still slightly stiff.
Meraxes was the god of commerce worshipped by the Valyrians.
The other three stewards followed in turn, each swearing their allegiance to Aegon.
Ding~ A soft chime sounded at the lower-left corner of Aegon's vision, as a prompt appeared on his game interface.
[Congratulations on inheriting a minor faction. You've received a beginner's bonus. One free reward draw is available. Would you like to draw now?]
"Yes," Aegon responded mentally, controlling the interface with a thought.
[Blue-quality item obtained: Blood Orchid ×10.]
[The game program will distribute rewards in stages. Participate in and influence major historical events to earn Destiny Points and rare items. Item quality ranks from lowest to highest: white, green, blue, purple, and gold.]
[Please find a wife as soon as possible, produce offspring, and begin the main Destiny quest!]
As a veteran player, Aegon was already well-versed in these mechanics.
In this game, only by collecting items could one hope to clear every stage. A house couldn't possibly last a thousand years through realism alone.
But the matter of producing heirs could not be delayed. Now that he had truly transmigrated into the game world, dying here might mean actual, irreversible death. However, if he left behind blood descendants, he could become a spirit of the house—forever bound to its legacy.
At the moment, Aegon was in the middle of a meeting with his stewards, discussing the future of the guild. After quickly navigating the panel, he closed it without hesitation.
"My lord?"
Noticing Aegon's brief distraction, Brus looked up to prompt him. As the steward in charge of accounts and finances, Brus held the most influence among the four.
Aegon nodded slightly, raised his hand, and said calmly, "Take your seats, all of you. Let's talk about the guild's current situation."
Brus and the others stood, gathered their long robes, and moved to sit along the sides of the square table.
Aside from Brus, who bore the distinctive features of a YiTish, the other three stewards were: Tarber, responsible for sales in the Free Cities; Ramon, in charge of slave procurement from Essos; and Morrec, who was stationed at the Freehold managing the collection of cod, whale oil, weapons, and other goods.
"My lord, ever since that spice ship sank unexpectedly, the guild's operations have come to a halt. We... we're on the verge of bankruptcy," Brus was the first to speak again.
"We have no funds to procure supplies, and all ten of our merchant ships are just sitting idle in port," Morrec added bitterly.
Aegon rubbed his forehead, sweeping his gaze over the group before focusing on Tarber and Ramon.
"What about you two? If there are issues, let's hear them now."
Tarber shook his head. "Without goods arriving in the Free Cities, I can't do anything. After the spice ship disaster, we defaulted on our deal with the big merchants in Pentos. If we keep failing to deliver, we'll lose that trade route altogether."
Ramon sighed. "Same here. No money means no way to buy slaves. I came back from Meereen because of the funding issue."
Aegon turned to Brus. "How much capital do we have left?"
"Three hundred and twenty gold coins," Brus replied, summarizing bluntly. "Not even enough to fill the hold of one ship."
Tarber suggested, "What if we take a loan from the Dragonlord Treasury, use it as our base capital?"
The Dragonlord Treasury was a bank run by the ruling Dragonlord family of the Freehold, handling investments and loans.
"Those loans are all usurious," Morrec interjected. "One round trip could go entirely to paying back the interest."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
In truth, there was one significant asset no one had yet mentioned—the very building they were sitting in.
This three-story black stone tower, spanning over a thousand square meters, stood in the bustling Meraxes Square. It had once been the ancestral home of Aegon's wealthy foster father. And now that the Freehold had become a dominant power in the world, the value of the property had skyrocketed—several hundredfold.
"Why don't we mortgage the Dragon Treasure Tower to..." Tarber looked toward Aegon, speaking hesitantly.
"No!"
Brus, sitting stiffly in his chair, cut him off before he could finish, slamming his hand on the table in firm objection.
"That property belongs to the lord—it can't be used for public affairs," Morrec added in agreement.
Aegon remained calm, fingers interlocked, elbows resting on the armrests as he sank into thought.
These four stewards—on the surface, they seem loyal. One plays the hardliner, another the peacemaker. Tarber, the head of sales, and Ramon, who manages the slave trade, are pushing for loans and mortgages. Morrec, in charge of procurement, and Brus, the financial officer, oppose them and act like they're on my side. But none of them has actually offered a real solution.
It feels like they're setting up a trap, trying to steer me straight into it, Aegon calculated silently.
He decided to shift the focus. "Let's not rush any decisions. I want to personally assess the guild's assets before making any moves."
Tarber looked like he was about to object, but Aegon shot him a sideways glance, and he held his tongue.
"Let's talk about what's been happening in the city lately. Any major events? I'll find a way to resolve the guild's financial issues. Don't forget—I come from the House of the True Dragons," Aegon said, reassuring the room.
Morrec, the head of procurement, was the first to respond. "There's word that a Dragon Dreamer has emerged in House Targaryen. It's said they've foretold a great event—but the Dragonlords have sealed off the details."
Morrec, stationed in Valyria to handle goods procurement, was the best informed among them.
From his customized memories, Aegon knew that his identity as a Targaryen bastard was unknown to the four stewards.
He, of course, knew of the infamous Doom of Valyria—an apocalyptic disaster of mysterious origin that shattered most of the Valyrian Peninsula and brought down the Valyrian Freehold after five millennia of prosperity.
It had all started with a prophecy from a Targaryen Dragon Dreamer, prompting the family to flee to Dragonstone with two of their vassal houses.
That Morrec, a guild steward, had caught wind of this before Aegon—a Targaryen bastard—made it clear that his connection to House Targaryen had long since been severed.
"This is important. Go on," Aegon said, nodding slightly.
"Besides that," Morrec continued, "in one month, the Freehold is holding a dragon-taming competition. Many with true dragon blood are already returning to Valyria. I've heard that recommendation slots for taming have skyrocketed in price on the black market."
"Hmm." Aegon fell silent, recalling the long-standing Valyrian tradition of dragon taming.
Over thousands of years, the Freehold had developed strict protocols to contain and control magical dragons.
According to the Freehold's [Dragon Taming Act], only those formally recommended by a member of a True Dragon House were allowed to tame a dragon. Even then, those noble families had only a limited number of recommendation slots.
Anyone who attempted to tame a wild dragon without permission would be hunted down by all the True Dragons of the Freehold once discovered.
The [Dragon Taming Act] existed to prevent the spread of dragons beyond the Freehold's control.
After thousands of years, the blood of the Dragonlords had become widespread. On the Valyrian Peninsula, bastards like Aegon were countless. If every one of them tried to claim a dragon, it would threaten the Dragonlord families' rule.
This law functioned much like the nuclear non-proliferation treaty from Aegon's past life—designed to maintain the Freehold's supremacy and strictly enforced for generations.
"I want to participate in the dragon-taming," Aegon said, lifting his head and announcing firmly under the gaze of the entire room.